BUAV welcomes statement by Home Office Minister on animal testing

01/08/2014

The BUAV has welcomed a statement made by Home Office Minister, Norman Baker that he is keen to move towards a ban on animal testing in the UK. Mr Baker told the BBC: "I am firmly of the belief it is not simply a moral issue but that we as a nation can get a strategic advantage from this - something that will be good for the economy…..I have been encouraging the industry to come up with alternatives to animal testing."

Despite this statement, however, the Government has so far failed to deliver on its 2010 pledge to reduce animal experiments and to end the use of animals to test household products. In fact, the number of animal experiments carried out continues to rise and in 2013, we saw the fourth consecutive year when the number of experiments has actually been higher than when current records began in 1986. Millions of animals continue to suffer and die in our laboratories. The UK should be leading the way in reducing animal testing, yet we remain one of the world's largest users of animals in experiments.

In his statement, Norman Baker also promised legislation before the next election to increase transparency - potentially giving the public the chance to obtain details about what happens to animals in laboratories. The BUAV has been campaigning for many years for openness in animal experiments and we are encouraged by Mr Baker’s statement who is known to be a long-standing advocate of transparency.

The BUAV was contacted by a number of media outlets, including the BBC, for our response to the statement.